The present invention generally relates to electrical connectors, and in particular to flexible printed circuit (FPC) connectors with reliable latching mechanisms.
Various electrical connectors are used to terminate flexible printed circuits (FPCs). U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,506 discloses a conventional FPC connector which has an insulating housing and a pressure member for securing an FPC inserted in the housing. The housing has a pair of support members extending laterally from opposite sides thereof. The pressure member has a pair of support arms on opposite sides thereof for engaging a pair of bearing recesses on opposite sides of the support members. The pressure member rotates about the shaft portions formed on the support arms to move between an open position and a closed position.
However, the support arm has a weak structure and tends to be damaged after a period of use. Additionally, the support members extending laterally from the opposite sides of the housing to position the pressure member on the insulating housing are a disadvantage in consideration of minimizing the size of the FPC connector.
Hence, an improved FPC connector is needed to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies of current FPC connectors.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a flexible printed circuit (FPC) connector having a pressure member reliably mounted on a housing thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an FPC connector having a low profile.
An FPC connector according to the present invention includes a substantially rectangular insulating housing, a plurality of contact elements received in the housing, a pressure member rotatably mounted on the housing, and a pair of solder pads mounted on the housing for soldering to a printed circuit board. The insulating housing has a pair of support arms on opposite sides thereof and a pair of latching keys respectively projecting on tops of the support arms. A pair of latching protrusions are formed on a rear end of the insulating housing opposite to each other. The pressure member has a body portion, a pair of latching arms extending rearwardly from a top edge of the body portion, and a pair of rotation arms projecting laterally from opposite sides of the body portion. A pair of recess portions are defined between the body portion and the rotation arms allowing entrance of the latching keys therein. Each latching arm has a latching tab for engaging a corresponding latching protrusion.